What is a Mason?The answer is simple. A Mason (or Freemason) is a member of
the largest and oldest international fraternity for men Membership is open to
any male at least 18 years old (21 in some jurisdictions) who believes in a
Supreme Divine Being and the immortality of the soul. People of all faith are
welcomed into Masonry. And even though almost everyone has a father or
grandfather or uncle who was a Mason, many people are not quite certain just
who Masons are. Freemasonry is a sacred retreat away from the outside world
where we live our day-to-day lives.A Mason is a man who
professes a faith in God. As a man of faith, he uses the tools of moral and
ethical truths to serve mankind. A Mason
binds himself to like-minded men in a Brotherhood that transcends all
religious, ethnic, social, cultural, and educational differences. A Mason is dedicated. He recognizes his
responsibility for justice, truth, charity, enlightenment, freedom and liberty,
honesty and integrity in all aspects of human endeavor. In fellowship with his
Brothers, a Mason finds ways in which to serve his God, his family, his
fellowman and his country. A Mason is such a man.What is Masonry?Masonry (or Freemasonry) is the oldest fraternity in the
world. No one knows just how old it is because the actual origins have been
lost in time. Probably, it arose from the guilds of stonemasons who built the
castles and cathedrals of the middle Ages. Possibly, they were influenced by
the Knights Templar, a group of Christian warrior monks formed in 1118 to help
protect pilgrims making trips to the Holy Land. In 1717, Masonry created a
formal organization in England when the first Grand Lodge was formed. A Grand
Lodge is the administrative body in charge of Masonry in some geographical
area. In the United States, there is a Grand Lodge in each state and the
District of Columbia. In Canada, there is a Grand Lodge in each province. Local
organizations of Masons are called lodges. There are lodges in most towns, and
large cities usually have several. There are about 13,200 lodges in the United
States. In a time when travel was by horseback and sailing ship, Masonry spread
with amazing speed. By 1731, when Benjamin Franklin joined the fraternity,
there were already several lodges in the Colonies, and Masonry spread rapidly as America expanded
west. In addition to Franklin, many of the Founding Fathers -- men such as
George Washington, Paul Revere, Joseph Warren, and John Hancock -- were Masons.
Masons and Masonry played an important part in the Revolutionary War and an
even more important part in the Constitutional Convention and the debates
surrounding the ratification of the Bill of Rights. Many of those debates were
held in Masonic lodges.What is a Lodge?The word "lodge" means both a group of Masons
meeting in some place and the room or building in which they meet. Masonic
buildings are also sometimes called "temples" because much of the
symbolism Masonry uses to teach its lessons comes from the building of King
Solomon’ s Temple in the Holy Land. The term "lodge" it comes from
the structures which the stonemasons built against the sides of the cathedrals during
construction. In winter, when building had to stop, they lived in these lodges
and worked at carving stone. While there is some variation in detail from state
to state and country to country. If you’ve ever watched C-SPAN’s coverage of
the House of Commons in London, you'll notice that the layout is about the
same. Since Masonry came to America from England, we still use the English
floor plan and English titles for the officers. The Worshipful Master of the
Lodge sits in the East. "Worshipful" is an English term of respect
which means the same thing as "Honorable." He is called the Master of
the lodge for the same reason that the leader of an orchestra is called the
"Concert Master." It is simply an older term for "Leader."
In other organizations, he would be called "President." The Senior
and Junior Wardens are the First and Second Vice-Presidents. The Deacons are
messengers, and the Stewards have charge of refreshments. Every lodge has an
altar holding a "Volume of the Sacred Law." In the United States and
Canada, that is almost always a Bible.What goes on in a Lodge?The Lodge is the center of activities for masons. Masonry
teaches that each person has a responsibility to make things better in the
world. Most individuals will not be the ones to find a cure for cancer, or
eliminate poverty, or help create world peace, but every man and woman and
child can do something to help others and to make things a little better.
Masonry is deeply involved with helping people -- it spends more than $1.4 million
dollars every day in the United States, just to make life a little easier and
the great majority of that help goes to people who are not Masons. Some of
these charities are vast projects, like the Children’s Hospitals and Burns
Institutes built by the Shiners. Also, Scottish Rite Masons maintain a
nationwide network of over 100 Childhood Language Disorders Clinics, Centers,
and Programs. Each helps children afflicted by such conditions as aphasia,
dyslexia, stuttering, and related learning or speech disorders. Some services
are less noticeable, like helping a widow pay her electric bill or buying coats
and shoes for disadvantaged children. And there is just about anything you can
think of in-between, but with projects large or small, the Masons of a lodge try
to help make the world a better place. The lodge gives them a way to combine
with others to do even more good. Masonry does things "inside" the
individual Mason. "Grow or die" is a great law of all nature. Most
people feel a need for continued growth as individuals. They feel they are not
as honest or as charitable or as compassionate or as loving or as trusting or
as well-informed as they ought to be. Masonry reminds its members over and over
again of the importance of these qualities and education. It lets men associate
with other men of honor and integrity who believe that things like honesty,
compassion, love, trust, and knowledge are important. In some ways, Masonry is
a support group for men who are trying to make the right decisions. It is easier
to practice these virtues when you know that those around you think they are
important, too, and will not laugh at you. That is a major reason that Masons
enjoy being together. Masons enjoy each other’s company. It is good to spend
time with people you can trust completely, and most Masons find that in their
lodge. While much of lodge activity is spent in works of charity or in lessons
in self-development, much is also spent in fellowship. Lodges have picnics,
camping trips, and many events for the whole family. Simply put, a lodge is a
place to spend time with friends. For members only, two basic kinds of meetings
take place in a lodge. The most common is a simple business meeting. To open
and close the meeting, there is a ceremony whose purpose is to remind us of the
virtues by which we are supposed to live. Then there is a reading of the
minutes; voting on petitions (applications of men who want to join the
fraternity); planning for charitable functions, family events, and other lodge
activities; and sharing information about members (called "Brothers,"
as in most fraternities) who are ill or have some sort of need. The other kind
of meeting is one in which people join the fraternity -- one at which the
"degrees" are performed.But every lodge serves more than its own members.
Frequently, there are meetings open to the public. Examples are Ladies Nights,
"Brother Bring a Friend Night," public installations of officers,
cornerstone laying ceremonies, and other special meetings supporting community
events and dealing with topics of local interest.What is a degree?A degree is a stage or level of membership. It is also the
ceremony by which a man attains that level of membership. There are three,
called Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft, and Master Mason. As you can see, the
names are taken from the craft guilds. In the middle Ages, when a person wanted
to join a craft, such as the gold smiths or the carpenters or the stonemasons,
he was first apprenticed. As an apprentice, he learned the tools and skills of
the trade. When he had proved his skills, he became a "Fellow of the
Craft" (today we would say "Journeyman"), and when he had
exceptional ability, he was known as a Master of the Craft. The degrees are
plays in which the candidate participates. Each degree uses symbols to teach,
just as plays did in the Middle Ages and as many theatrical productions do
today. (We will talk about symbols a little later.) The Masonic degrees teach
the great lessons of life -- the importance of honor and integrity, of being a person
on whom others can rely, of being both trusting and trustworthy, of realizing
that you have a spiritual nature as well as a physical or animal nature, of the
importance of self-control, of knowing how to love and be loved, of knowing how
to keep confidential what others tell you so that they can "open up"
without fear.Why is Masonry so
"secretive"?It really is not "secretive," although it
sometimes has that reputation. Masons certainly do not make a secret of the
fact that they are members of the fraternity. We wear rings, lapel pins, and
tie clasps with Masonic emblems like the Square and Compasses, the best known
of Masonic signs which, logically, recall the fraternity’s early symbolic roots
in stonemasonry. Masonic buildings are clearly marked, and are usually listed
in the phone book. Lodge activities are not secret -- picnics and other events
are even listed in the newspapers, especially in smaller towns. Many lodges
have answering machines which give the upcoming lodge activities. But there are
some Masonic secrets, and they fall into two categories. The first are the ways
in which a man can identify himself as a Mason -- grips and passwords. We keep
those private for obvious reasons. It is not at all unknown for unscrupulous
people to try to pass themselves off as Masons in order to get assistance under
false pretenses. The second group is harder to describe, but they are the ones
Masons usually mean if we talk about "Masonic secrets." They are
secrets because they literally can not be talked about, can not be put into
words. They are the changes that happen to a man when he really accepts
responsibility for his own life and, at the same time, truly decides that his
real happiness is in helping others. It is a wonderful feeling, but it is
something you simply can not explain to another person. That is why we
sometimes say that Masonic secrets cannot (rather than "may not") be
told. Try telling someone exactly what you feel when you see a beautiful sunset,
or when you hear music, like the national anthem, which suddenly stirs old
memories, and you will understand what we mean."Secret societies" became very popular in America
in the late 1800s and early 1900s. There were literally hundreds of them, and
most people belonged to two or three. Many of them were modeled on Masonry, and
made a great point of having many "secrets." Freemasonry got ranked
with them. But if Masonry is a secret society, it is the worst-kept secret in
the world.Is Masonry a religion? The answer to that
question is simple. No.We do use ritual in meetings, and because there is always an
altar or table with the Volume of the Sacred Law open if a lodge is meeting,
some people have confused Masonry with a religion, but it is not. That does not
mean that religion plays no part in Masonry -- it plays a very important part.
A person who wants to become a Mason must have a belief in God. No atheist can
ever become a Mason. Meetings open with prayer, and a Mason is taught, as one
of the first lessons of Masonry, that one should pray for divine counsel and
guidance before starting an important undertaking. But that does not make
Masonry a "religion." Sometimes people confuse Masonry with a
religion because we call some Masonic buildings "temples." But we use
the word in the same sense that Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes called the
Supreme Court a "Temple of Justice" and because a Masonic lodge is a
symbol of the Temple of Solomon. Neither Masonry nor the Supreme Court is a religion
just because its members meet in a "temple." In some ways, the
relationship between Masonry and religion is like the relationship between the
Parent-Teacher Association (the P.T.A.) and education. Members of the P.T.A.
believe in the importance of education. They support it. They assert that no
man or woman can be a complete and whole individual or live up to his or her
full potential without education. They encourage students to stay in school and
parents to be involved with the education of their children. They may give
scholarships. They encourage their members to get involved with and to support
their individual schools. But there are some things P.T.A.s do not do. They do
not teach. They do not tell people which school to attend. They do not try to
tell people what they should study or what their major should be. In much the
same way, Masons believe in the importance of religion.But Freemasonry does not tell a person which
religion he should practice or how he should practice it. That is between the
individual and God. That is the function of his house of worship, not his
fraternity, and Masonry is a fraternity, not a religion.What is a Masonic Bible?Bibles are popular gifts among Masons, frequently given to a
man when he joins the lodge or at other special events. A Masonic Bible is the
same book anyone thinks of as a Bible (it is usually the King James
translation) with a special page in the front on which to write the name of the
person who is receiving it and the occasion on which it is given. Sometimes there
is a special index or information section which shows the person where in the
Bible to find the passages which are quoted in the Masonic ritual.If Masonry is not a religion, why
does it use ritual?Many of us may think of religion when we think of ritual,
but ritual is used in every aspect of life. It is so much a part of us that we
just do not notice it. Ritual simply means that some things are done more or
less the same way each time. Almost all school assemblies, for example, start
with the principal or some other official calling for the attention of the
group. Then the group is led in the Pledge of Allegiance. A school choir or the
entire group may sing the school song. That is a ritual. Almost all business
meetings of every sort call the group to order, have a reading of the minutes
of the last meeting, and deal with old business, then with new business. That
is a ritual. Most groups use Robert’s Rules of Order to conduct a meeting. That
is probably the best-known book of ritual in the world. There are social rituals which tell us how to meet people
(we shake hands), how to join a conversation (we wait for a pause, and then
speak), how to buy tickets to a concert (we wait in line and do not push in
ahead of those who were there first). There are literally hundreds of examples,
and they are all rituals. Masonry uses a ritual because it is an effective way to
teach important ideas -- the values we have talked about earlier, and it
reminds us where we are, just as the ritual of a business meeting reminds
people where they are and what they are supposed to be doing. Masonry’s ritual is very rich because it is so old. It has
developed over centuries to contain some beautiful language and ideas expressed
in symbols. But there's nothing unusual in using ritual. All of us do it every
day.Why does Masonry use symbols?Everyone uses symbols every day, just as we do ritual. We
use them because they communicate quickly. When you see a stop sign, you know
what it means, even if you cannot read the word "stop." The circle
and line mean "do not" or "not allowed." In fact, using
symbols is probably the oldest way of communication and the oldest way of
teaching. Masonry uses symbols for the same reason. Some form of the
"Square and Compasses" is the most widely used and known symbol of
Masonry. In one way, this symbol is a kind of trademark for the fraternity, as
the "golden arches" are for McDonald’s. When you see the Square and
Compasses on a building, you know that Masons meet there. And like all symbols,
they have a meaning. The Square symbolizes things of the earth, and it also
symbolizes honor, integrity, truthfulness, and the other ways we should relate
to this world and the people in it. The Compasses symbolize things of the
spirit, and the importance of a well-developed spiritual life, and also the
importance of self-control -- of keeping ourselves within bounds. The G stands
for Geometry, the science which the ancients believed most revealed the glory
of God and His works in the heavens, and it also stands for God, Who must be at
the center of all our thoughts and of all our efforts. The meanings of most of
the other Masonic symbols are obvious. For example, the gavel teaches the
importance of self-control and self-discipline. The hour-glass teaches us that
time is always passing, and we should not put off important decisions. The reasons that the Lodges have been termed “Blue Lodges”
is because blue is emblematic of friendship, a peculiar characteristic of
ancient craft masonry. The color for borders of aprons, collars and other
regalia of the symbolic lodge is blue.So, is Masonry education?Yes. In a very real sense, education is at the center of
Masonry. We have stressed its importance for a very long time. Back in the
Middle Ages, schools were held in the lodges of stonemasons. You have to know a
lot to build a cathedral -- geometry, and structural engineering, and
mathematics, just for a start. And that education was not very widely
available. All the formal schools and colleges trained people for careers in
the church, or in law or medicine. And you had to be a member of the social
upper classes to go to those schools. Stonemasons did not come from the
aristocracy. And so the lodges had to teach the necessary skills and information.
Freemasonry’s dedication to education started there. It has continued. Masons
started some of the first public schools in both Europe and America. We
supported legislation to make education universal. In the 1800s Masons as a
group lobbied for the establishment of state-supported education and federal
land-grant colleges. Today we give millions of dollars in scholarships each
year. We encourage our members to give volunteer time to their local schools,
buy classroom supplies for teachers, help with literacy programs, and do
everything they can to help assure that each person, adult or child, has the
best educational opportunities possible. And Masonry supports continuing
education and intellectual growth for its members, insisting that learning more
about many things is important for anyone who wants to keep mentally alert and
young. Masonry teaches some important principles. There is nothing
very surprising in the list. Masonry teaches that:Since God is the Creator, all men and women are the children
of God. Because of that, all men and women are brothers and sisters, entitled
to dignity, respect for their opinions, and consideration of their feelings.Each person must take responsibility for his/her own life
and actions. Neither wealth nor poverty, education nor ignorance, health nor
sickness excuses any person from doing the best he or she can do or being the
best person possible under the circumstances.No one has the right to tell another person what he or she
must think or believe. Each man and woman has an absolute right to
intellectual, spiritual, economic, and political freedom. This is a right given
by God, not by man. All tyranny, in every form, is illegitimate.Each person must learn and practice self-control. Each
person must make sure his spiritual nature triumphs over his animal nature.
Another way to say the same thing is that even when we are tempted to anger, we
must not be violent. Even when we are tempted to selfishness, we must be
charitable. Even when we want to "write someone off," we must
remember that he or she is a human and entitled to our respect. Even when we
want to give up, we must go on. Even when we are hated, we must return love,
or, at a minimum, we must not hate back. It is not easy!Faith must be in the center of our lives. We find that faith
in our houses of worship, not in Freemasonry, but Masonry constantly teaches
that a person’s faith, whatever it may be, is central to a good life. Each
person has a responsibly to be a good citizen, obeying the law. That does not
mean we can not try to change things, but change must take place in legal ways.It is important to work to make this world better for all
who live in it. Masonry teaches the importance of doing good, not because it
assures a persons entrance into heaven -- that is a question for a religion,
not a fraternity -- but because we have a duty to all other men and women to
make their lives as fulfilling as they can be. Honor and integrity are
essential to life. Life without honor and integrity is without meaning.What are the requirements for
membership?The person who wants to join Masonry must be a man (it is a
fraternity), sound in body and mind, who believes in God, is at least the
minimum age required by Masonry in his state, and has a good reputation.
(Incidentally, the "sound in body" requirement -- which comes from
the stonemasons of the middle Ages -- does not mean that a physically
challenged man cannot be a Mason; many are). Those are the only
"formal" requirements. But there are others, not so formal. He should
believe in helping others. He should believe there is more to life than
pleasure and money. He should be willing to respect the opinions of others, and
he should want to grow and develop as a human being.How does a man become a Mason?Some men are surprised that no one has ever asked them to
become a Mason. They may even feel that the Masons in their town do not think
they are "good enough" to join. But it does not work that way. For
hundreds of years, Masons have been forbidden to ask others to join the
fraternity. We can talk to friends about Masonry. We can tell them about what
Masonry does. We can tell them why we enjoy it. But we cannot ask, much less
pressure, anyone to join.There is a good reason
for that. It is not that we are trying to be exclusive, but becoming a Mason is
a very serious thing. Joining Masonry is making a permanent life commitment to
live in certain ways. We have listed most of them above -- to live with honor
and integrity, to be willing to share with and care about others, to trust each
other, and to place ultimate trust in God. No one should be "talked
into" making such a decision.So, when a man decides he wants to be a Mason, he asks a
Mason for a petition or application. He fills it out and gives it to the Mason,
and that Mason takes it to the local lodge. The Master of the lodge will
appoint a committee to visit with the man and his family, find out a little
about him and why he wants to be a Mason, tell him and his family about
Masonry, and answer their questions. The committee reports to the lodge, and
the lodge votes on the petition. If the vote is affirmative -- and it usually
is -- the lodge will contact the man to set the date for the Entered Apprentice
Degree. When the person has completed all three degrees, he is a Master Mason
and a full member of the fraternity.We hope that this has
answered at least some of your questions about our fraternity. If you need more
information on becoming a Mason, contact us and we will be glad to help. Or
better still, come and visit one of our lodges for a public event.